Parker 51 Comeback 2020?

[Estycollector]

13 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Hi Red,

 

No problem.  I was just having a small rant because it seems here at FPN, people ask questions I have already answered; or make observations I have already made - and I begin to wonder if anyone bothers to read my posts. But all is well; I'm over it, now.   

 

- Sean 

Good morning, Sean. Perhaps folks do what I do at times and respond to the last post made and don't take the time to read those previously posted. Also, since you have the new Parker, hearing others disparage the pen cannot be easy to read. 

 

I trust you will continue to enjoy your new pen.

[TheRedBeard]

8 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Hi Mister Sheaffer, 

 

In a word. No.

 

Interchangeable parts is an old industrial concept - Detroit has been doing it for over a century and most of us aren't put in a froth when Lamy, Pilot, Platinum and many others share a nib across model ranges.

 

The problem here is the P51 is a mythic pen and a lot of people get rattled if you mess with it. It's like sacking a Church or burning books.

 

If you move beyond the mania and look at things more objectively and use the NG51 as though the original never existed; it's not that bad of a pen - it's not great, but it's not that bad, either. But many take umbrage if you take the same pen and call it a 51 - it's all in a name.

 

I can understand their frustration, though; I have several of the originals and the originals are in a class by themselves. I dont light candles before a display of 51s, but they are great pens - nothing less, but nothing more, either.

 

But they do enjoy a rather rabid, cult following by many in Pendom. I myself list the 51 as my favorite pen.

 

The problem I would have is if the Deluxe model would be identical to the Core model, except that it has a gold Jotter nib.  That would kind of be like the 1970s/1980s scandal of Chevrolet engines being put in Cadillacs. 

 

I think the Core model is worth looking into, if you can find a deal on one; I would hesitate paying $87 for one, though. And I fear the Deluxe model is the same exact pen in every way except for a half gram of gold and a $160 hike in the price. 

 

- Sean

 

Thank you, Sean, for this perfectly summarised observation on the situation around "new" P51 :)

[corniche]

18 hours ago, MisterSheaffer said:

Thank you for the response. I think you nailed it with your observations.

 

Hello Mr. Sheaffer, 

 

You're welcome and thank you, very much.

 

- Sean   

[corniche]

15 hours ago, Ferocity said:

 

That's right Sean......

 

Thnx, Ferocity. 

 

- Sean 

 

[corniche]

12 hours ago, shostakovich said:

I'm not sure if it was here or on another Parker 51 thread where I said I was a bit fed up because my old 51 was skipping when using document (particle) inks such as De Atramentis. It was said that I may being a bit unreasonable to expect a vintage 1956 pen to be able to cope with these new inks. I have thought about this and I think the experts were right, and I was wrong. I should not expect the vintage pens to cope with new inks that were not in existence then.

 

So today i have refilled it with Noodler's La Coleur Royale - a nice blue ink - and I will use the P51 for things I don't need to keep for ever, even if that's a possible scenario anyway. So far the pen is working perfectly with the Noodler's ink. Thanks for all the good advice and I'm not "ditching" the pen which was a silly term to have used anyway.

 

Hi shostakovich,

 

Glad to hear you switched over to a "friendlier" ink to pens and are enjoying the fruits of that decision.

 

It's actually another testament to the original 51 that it recovered so well.

 

- Sean 

[corniche]

12 hours ago, Estycollector said:

Good morning, Sean. Perhaps folks do what I do at times and respond to the last post made and don't take the time to read those previously posted. Also, since you have the new Parker, hearing others disparage the pen cannot be easy to read. 

 

I trust you will continue to enjoy your new pen.

 

Hi Esty, 

 

I've been guilty of a similar crime myself; I'll come across a post that touches a chord in me and I'll respond immediately without reading through the rest of the thread to see if anyone else has already addressed the issue.

 

Fortunately, I'm not that thin skinned; I expect others to have different opinions and preferences - I only want them to acknowledge mine as well.

 

Yes, if you take it for what it is, you can enjoy the NG51; if you expect it to duplicate the original - (like we all hoped it would) - you'll be disappointed. 

 

- Sean 

[corniche]

11 hours ago, TheRedBeard said:

Thank you, Sean, for this perfectly summarised observation on the situation around "new" P51

 

Thank you, Red Beard; I appreciate this.

 

- Sean 

 

[Ferocity]

I'm not going to change my mind about this plum 51! Honestly I had some doubts, but updates are sure to come whenever my pump 51 gets here!

 

[corniche]

4 hours ago, Ferocity said:

I'm not going to change my mind about this plum 51! Honestly I had some doubts, but updates are sure to come whenever my pump 51 gets here!

 

 

Hi Ferocity, Everyone, 

 

I am vexed in saying you may want to reconsider; because I am.

 

My teal NG51 was going along fine, but today, I've been having a lot of start-up and stalling issues.  I've had them with Jotters, but it seemed like the threaded cap and hooded nib of the NG51 had solved the problem - until today. 

 

This afternoon, I thought it was just one of those glitches; it had been fine before. But the problem has continued this evening, on 3 different papers, so now I'm thinking I should let the problem be known. 

 

This has been a grave disappointment to me. The ink level is good - about half, so theres still plenty of ink left in the converter - and the ink is Diamine Marine, which is a wet ink.

 

Not happy mentioning this, but felt I should let everyone know. 

 

- Sean 

 

PS: I should also probably say, I just inked the pen and started using it - I didn't flush it first, as is often recommended with new pens.  

 

[shostakovich]

8 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Hi shostakovich,

 

Glad to hear you switched over to a "friendlier" ink to pens and are enjoying the fruits of that decision.

 

It's actually another testament to the original 51 that it recovered so well.

 

- Sean 

Hi Sean

 

Thanks for all the good advice. It makes the forum such a good one with all of the help people are giving to each other.  I'm sorry your new 51 is giving problems, but I'm sure you will sort it out.

 

Best wishes

 

Peter

[lionelc]

hi sean, ferocity and peter - approached my plum gt with some apprehension after reading your thoughts on it.  it actually came with a cc and the pen felt very comfortable in hand but hard started out of the box!  it was a case of baby's bottom but have learned much from fpn members and practice - worked on it with my go to of serenity blue, micromesh and a loupe.  definitely not a pen for newbies given work required to make it write well.

 

 

[TheRedBeard]

4 hours ago, corniche said:

 

Hi Ferocity, Everyone, 

 

I am vexed in saying you may want to reconsider; because I am.

 

My teal NG51 was going along fine, but today, I've been having a lot of start-up and stalling issues.  I've had them with Jotters, but it seemed like the threaded cap and hooded nib of the NG51 had solved the problem - until today. 

 

This afternoon, I thought it was just one of those glitches; it had been fine before. But the problem has continued this evening, on 3 different papers, so now I'm thinking I should let the problem be known. 

 

This has been a grave disappointment to me. The ink level is good - about half, so theres still plenty of ink left in the converter - and the ink is Diamine Marine, which is a wet ink.

 

Not happy mentioning this, but felt I should let everyone know. 

 

- Sean 

 

PS: I should also probably say, I just inked the pen and started using it - I didn't flush it first, as is often recommended with new pens.  

 

Hi Sean,

Thank you for letting us know about your further experience.

That sounds not much encouraging... but, frankly, not surprising either...

[TheRedBeard]

38 minutes ago, lionelc said:

hi sean, ferocity and peter - approached my plum gt with some apprehension after reading your thoughts on it.  it actually came with a cc and the pen felt very comfortable in hand but hard started out of the box!  it was a case of baby's bottom but have learned much from fpn members and practice - worked on it with my go to of serenity blue, micromesh and a loupe.  definitely not a pen for newbies given work required to make it write well.

 

 

 

Thank you, Lionelc, for sharing your first experience on "luxury" version of a new P51.

Upmarket pen not writing well out of the box... It is just ridiculous...

[Ferocity]

Lionelc you are so lucky!!!! I wish i had mine already!

 

also... please do not be offended, but I really think that your guys' pen might be a little dirty

 

Hey fellas I'm not surprised by the troubles you're having IF you didn't clean it out before using it. I think it's kind of dumb but a lot of times these brand new pens come with micro debris for the manufacturing process. Remember that the manufacturing process can leave behind residues or particles which can severely limit ink flow at the nib, and these little particles can be a reason for the ink to dry in an accelerated manner due to increase surface area. Of course every single pen is unique and it's kind of an insult that these companies don't clean them out well before they give them to us, but it's pretty common from what I've seen online. I'm an idiot for even mentioning this BUT don't forget that a lot of times this is very true with brand new pens. Usually I'll even go as far as removing the nib and cleaning it meticulously with ammonia, soap+water, brass shims, eyeglasses microfiber cloths and cotton Qtips (good luck getting the nib out with this Parker 51). I do all this while preventing as many micro scratches as possible. 

Sean I'm really sorry to make assumptions, but when both you guys said this, this is what came to mind. for the sake of full disclosure: Lionelc and Sean, did you fellas flush out your pens with clean water before use? did you make an attempt to try n' clean it out thoroughly before using it?

 

If either of you did clean it out well, and this hard start problem is happening then obviously the pen sucks. I'm in suspense to hear what all you guys did before putting ink into these 💖

[Aysedasi]

45 minutes ago, TheRedBeard said:

 

Upmarket pen not writing well out of the box... It is just ridiculous...

 

But not exactly uncommon.....

[TheRedBeard]

6 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

 

But not exactly uncommon.....

Well, Aysedasi, I agree...

However, it looks like one buys a brand new Jaguar or Aston Martin from a reputable dealer and then finds out that he has to open a bonnet and do something inside in order to make the car working properly

[TheRedBeard]

To be fair: the only modern Parkers I ever bought are Duofolds Centennial (a few) - all started writing perfectly out of the box.

[Aysedasi]

Yes, my two Centennials wrote perfectly straight out of the box too.  But I've seen many many stories on here of people buying pens way too expensive for me to even contemplate and then reporting having to adjust nibs and such like before they could write with them.  Which to me seems beyond absurd....

[Heinkle]

5 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

Yes, my two Centennials wrote perfectly straight out of the box too.  But I've seen many many stories on here of people buying pens way too expensive for me to even contemplate and then reporting having to adjust nibs and such like before they could write with them.  Which to me seems beyond absurd....

 

My Big Red Centennial did not write well out of the box - still trying to send it to Parker for a nib change

[TheRedBeard]

15 minutes ago, Aysedasi said:

Yes, my two Centennials wrote perfectly straight out of the box too.  But I've seen many many stories on here of people buying pens way too expensive for me to even contemplate and then reporting having to adjust nibs and such like before they could write with them.  Which to me seems beyond absurd....

Sure, I have also read a lot about out-of-the-box problems with very expensive pens (people even had to send them to nibmeisters...) but I have never heard about such a problem with any top Parkers...